“His grandmother I can’t drag onto email kicking and screaming. I’ve tried three times. But he’s going to grow up with email as just part of his vocabulary – it’s not like a new concept or anything. So how are they going to communicate? How are they going to have a relevant conversation?

“I look at LEGO as a language, as an idea. She understands it: she bought it for me when I was a kid. My son likes it, I like it. So even though she may not be playing LEGO Universe, I’ll be playing LEGO Universe, he’ll be playing LEGO Universe and there’s a relevant connection there.

“Good games are fun to play, no matter what. There’s a lot of depth that we can offer that will be there. Obviously it’s family-friendly so it’s going to be in a different context to some of the more adult-themed games. But if you like LEGO and if you like playing MMOs or connecting with your friends and playing games then you’re probably going to like LEGO Universe.”

Jonathan Smith, head of Traveller’s Tales agreeed, stating that LEGO creates a world where parents can come together with their children.

“Online games and the online communications experience are very accessible and children are ready for that, immersed in that, and parents are not,” he said. “So this is where the children can actually lead the parents by the hand and show them what to do, and that can be a really powerful experience together.”